Apple Car Battery Talks Stall in Another Blow to Electric Vehicle Project

[MacRumors]

Apple's negotiations with the Chinese companies CATL and BYD about supplying batteries for its rumored electric vehicle have mostly stalled, Reuters reports.

According to three individuals said to have knowledge of the discussions between Apple and the Chinese firms, the talks reached an impasse when CATL and BYD refused to set up teams dedicated to Apple and manufacturing plants in the United States. It has previously been reported that Apple is keen to bring at least some of the manufacturing related to the vehicle to the U.S., with particular focus on the batteries.

Apple allegedly wants to use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery for its electric vehicle, partly because they are cheaper to produce than more expensive lithium batteries that need cobalt and nickel. The company is understood to be looking to Chinese battery manufacturers because they can make more advanced LFP batteries than their rivals thanks to battery pack technology that bolsters performance, driving range, and energy density.

CATL is the world's leading manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles and supplies Tesla, but has been reluctant to build a factory in the U.S. due to concerns about costs and geopolitical tensions. BYD already has an iron-phosphate battery facility in Lancaster, California, but simply refused to build a new factory that would supply Apple exclusively. CATL has also found it "impossible" to set up a dedicated product development team to exclusively work with Apple due to an inability to find sufficient personnel.

CATL and BYD apparently informed Apple several months ago that they were unwilling to meet these requirements, but Apple has remained hopeful that it can reach an agreement. Apple is now being forced to consider Japanese battery suppliers, such as Panasonic, and has sent a group of staff to Japan this month to explore this possibility.

Difficulties in establishing a supply of batteries could further delay the development of the vehicle, worsening existing issues after project leader Doug Field left Apple to join Ford. Kevin Lynch, who spearheaded the development Apple Watch, is now believed to be leading the vehicle project.

Article Link: Apple Car Battery Talks Stall in Another Blow to Electric Vehicle Project

 

[fwmireault]

How many % of the car could be charged with the MagSafe Battery pack?

 

[orbital~debris]

It will work out fine. Great even. This is modern Apple.

The fact the vehicle is a current project after this long indicates it will come to fruition.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I maintain that the Foxconn car revealed on Monday is actually the Apple Car.

Everything else is just cover stories to distract and contingency plans for if Foxconn doesn't work out.

Foxconn is not a well known brand and they don't have an existing manufacturing presence in the US - it makes no sense that they would choose to start in the US of all places.

Plus they'd be going head to head against Apple. Both companies are each other's biggest partners - becoming direct competitors doesn't make sense.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

It will work out fine. Great even. This is modern Apple.

The fact the vehicle is a current project after this long indicates it will come to fruition.

They planned on building a TV for over a decade before they dropped it in favor of just letting other TVs include AirPlay + AppleTV+ and then selling a separate box that could be plugged into any other TV that didn't have those features built in.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

This is probably the hardest project Apple has worked on. So many hurdles!

 

[WWP99]

Good they want to make sure some of the battery building is done in America.

 

[no_idea]

Wow….another delay on the car…what a shocker….said no one ever

 

[TroyBoy30]

they have no bus making a car to start with

 

[zeezun]

apple should discontinue this project already. but greed wont let them. oshi iranu

 

[6787872]

love it when apple tries to dictate terms and gets rejected. enjoy the hubris, apple.

 

[jefhai]

My feeling is Apple should give up on the entire car. And sell to companies an entire car computer, navigation and center console system. Just imagine getting your same brand car (Subaru) with a iPad Pro like display to control it all. Both Subaru and Rav4 have bad center console designs and interfaces

 

[randyhudson]

I would never buy a car from Apple. Imagine trying to get something fixed under warranty after leaving your car out in the rain.

 

[AustinIllini]

Good. I want apple to stick to what they're good at.

We already have one new car brand that isn't good at building cars (Tesla)

 

[orbital~debris]

They planned on building a TV for over a decade before they dropped it in favor of just letting other TVs include AirPlay + AppleTV+ and then selling a separate box that could be plugged into any other TV that didn't have those features built in.

True, but a TV is not a car and requires nowhere near the level of production ducks lined up in a row.

 

[jefhai]

I would never buy a car from Apple. Imagine trying to get something fixed under warranty after leaving your car out in the rain.

Or having to wait for an Apple Genius to come assist you will your Apple Care support request at the Apple Dealership. ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

 

[rpmurray]

If Apple wants an exclusive battery plant in the US then they should be the ones paying to have it built in the US.

 

[goonie4life9]

Or having to wait for an Apple Genius to come assist you will your Apple Care support request at the Apple Dealership. ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

The best will be the imposition of Apple’s new standard of troubleshooting: Erase and re-install the OS, escalate to Engineering, keep your OS up to date.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

“blow”?…I wouldn’t use such a knockout word lol….I would use another more appropriate and correct word…”negotiations”. Isn’t that what businesses do? They negotiate and conduct business.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Didn’t Apple run into a production impasse with Intel? I wonder what they did? Or Qualcomm?

 

[justperry]

Good they want to make sure some of the battery building is done in America.

Why do you think it needs to go to the states.

 

[theluggage]

They planned on building a TV for over a decade before they dropped it in favor of just letting other TVs include AirPlay + AppleTV+ and then selling a separate box that could be plugged into any other TV that didn't have those features built in.

Trouble is, Apple couldn't just make "a TV" that only played iTunes Store content and Apple TV+ - they still have to cater for broadcast digital, cable, satellite and multiple internet TV standards (i.e. persuade Netflix, Amazon, Disney et. al. to make apps) - and broadcast analog has only disappeared in the last 5 years or so. That's without worrying about customers outside the US that use different standards for digital TV. Then they'd need multiple sizes of screen... then they'd have to compete for market share with Sony, LG, Samsung etc. who are all well-established and offer everything from entry-levels to eye-wateringly expensive premium sets...

What would be the Unique Selling Point of Apple in the well-established TV market, that would justify the financial risk of breaking into a market where they have no presence?

In the case of the Mac... well, don't forget that the Apple II was one of the first personal computers that you could take home and use without owning a soldering iron or tramping around amateur radio fairs in search of a used video terminal... The Mac was the first widely available GUI system... the iPod wasn't the first digital music player but they weren't popular at the time & the big player, Sony, were still pushing MiniDisc and CD. The iPhone was late to the cellphone game, but was a major re-think of what a smartphone should be... if you haven't got a brilliant idea for something that is to current TVs as the iPhone was to the Blackberry or the original MacOS was to DOS... then you haven't got it.

Same problem with electric cars: Apple have no track record in the auto industry, and Tesla have got in first with the "disruptive technology" thing. Seriously - if you had amnesia, and saw a Tesla with an Apple logo stuck on it, you'd believe it (esp. when you saw the giant iPad controlling it). Or a BMW i3, for that matter.

As for self-driving: I'm sure it will come eventually but going that last 1% between "mostly works" and "good enough to let joe public loose in it" is going to take a long, long time (and, pretty soon, a Tesla on autopilot carrying 6 nuns is going to crash into a truck full of orphaned kittens on Christmas Day and the whole thing will be set back 5 years...)

(Personally, the day I get behind the non-wheel of a self-driving car will be the day I can legally sit back, crack open a beer and read a good book while it drives around at the sole risk of the vehicle manufacturer without feeling remotely irresponsible).

 

[Enlightened Doggo]

I maintain that the Foxconn car revealed on Monday is actually the Apple Car.

Everything else is just cover stories to distract and contingency plans for if Foxconn doesn't work out.

Foxconn is not a well known brand and they don't have an existing manufacturing presence in the US - it makes no sense that they would choose to start in the US of all places.

Plus they'd be going head to head against Apple. Both companies are each other's biggest partners - becoming direct competitors doesn't make sense.

Foxconn either manufacturing Apple's car or being in serious talks to seems like the most plausible explanation. Apple is fundamentally a software and computer design company, which is very different from manufacturing heavy equipment, and modern cars are extremely complex.

 

[w5jck]

I will buy their Macs, iPhones, iPads, and ATVs, even though they are rather buggy, but only because there is no alternative I really care to own at this time. But I will never buy a buggy car made by a company that has no experience making cars, and that competes against car companies that have been making cars for a century. Not going to happen. First I hate plug in cars. I will consider a hybrid as I had a Prius years ago and liked it, but I’m not going to plug in a car and be limited to a few miles. And I am not ever going to buy a car from a company that has never made one before. Plus I NEVER buy premium brand cars. Any car Apple makes will cost way more than a trusted brand like Toyota, and the Toyota will likely still be running 10 years and 200,000 miles later, but the Apple Cart will likely be littering junk yards across the country. Yep, Apple Cart seems like a good name for it because it will be so buggy that you will have to tow it home a lot.

 

[rulymammoth]

I will buy their Macs, iPhones, iPads, and ATVs, even though they are rather buggy, but only because there is no alternative I really care to own at this time. But I will never buy a buggy car made by a company that has no experience making cars, and that competes against car companies that have been making cars for a century. Not going to happen. First I hate plug in cars. I will consider a hybrid as I had a Prius years ago and liked it, but I’m not going to plug in a car and be limited to a few miles. And I am not ever going to buy a car from a company that has never made one before. Plus I NEVER buy premium brand cars. Any car Apple makes will cost way more than a trusted brand like Toyota, and the Toyota will likely still be running 10 years and 200,000 miles later, but the Apple Cart will likely be littering junk yards across the country. Yep, Apple Cart seems like a good name for it because it will be so buggy that you will have to tow it home a lot.

Phew, glad Elon Musk never took your advice, otherwise Tesla wouldn’t have happened.